If All Was Lost
by HazelHPwiz
Summary: Sequel to "It's Too Late", so read that first or this probably won't make any sense. Basically, Ziva and Tony finally decide to tell Gibbs about their relationship. Will all go as planned, or will their entire relationship be put to waste?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Firstly, thanks for all of your comments/alerts on my first story! Here's the sequel, which I really hope you enjoy. This story is probably going to be a bit longer than the last, hence the super long first chapter. I'm not exactly sure how this story is actually going to play out, but I have a **_**pretty good**_** idea of the end. So… Enjoy! Byes! :)**

**I, sadly, don't own NCIS :( :( :( **

"You did _what?_" Ziva screeched, a look of horror crossing her face. "Why on earth would you even _think_ about doing that?"

Tony, knowing that all traces of their peaceful moment had fled the room, quickly backed up, wanting to be out of the way of Ziva when he explained his reasons. Once he was a suitable distance away from his partner, Tony quickly tried to explain why on earth he would tell anyone about their relationship without telling Ziva about it before hand.

"Well… It's like this…"

"Tony! I'm sooo glad you're finally here!" Abby called, running over to Tony, her face beaming.

"Uh, hi Abs… So, um, why'd you call me down here?" He questioned, striding over to the giant TV on the wall. Looking up, he saw a picture of the latest criminal that they had just put behind bars. Per usual, he'd wanted something, hadn't gotten it, and had ended up killing a Marine. The case had been generally easy, it had just left behind a ton of paperwork to do.

Suddenly, a picture of a blurry yellow sticky note appeared on the screen. Confused, Tony turned around to see Abby leaning against the opposite wall, smirking in a very un-Abby-like way.

"Can you explain to me what _this_ is, DiNozzo?" Abby asked in an almost exact copy of Gibbs' voice. Caught off guard, Tony's eyes widened for a moment before turning back around to face the monitor.

"Well, Abs, Gibbs, or whoever you are… It looks like a sticky note." Tony replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Mmmm-hmmm." Abby murmured something to herself before quickly striding across the room and typing rapidly.

Tony watched as the blurry shot on the screen slowly cleared so that the handwriting was clearly legible.

_'Tonight? My place? I have an extra special movie picked out. -Tony'_

"So…?" Abby trailed off, looking expectantly at Tony as she absentmindedly twisted a pigtail around her pinky finger.

"Still looks like a sticky note, Abby." Tony replied, trying to keep a cool head. Sure, Abby was smart. But was she smart enough to deduce who the intended recipient of this note was?

Come on, it's Abby we're talking about. Let's get serious here.

"Yes, but the question is… Who is it to?" Abby slowly strides across the room until she was face to face with Tony. "And don't lie to me, DiNozzo. I can detect lies a mile away." Abby said in yet another perfect imitation of Gibbs' voice.

Plastering the classic DiNozzo smile on his face, Tony quickly thought of a movie reference in a desperate attempt to distract Abby. "You know, this reminds me of-"

"Tony, this isn't a movie. This is reality. Abby's reality. Now tell me who this mystery girlfriend of yours is or things might just get a little… Messy." She finished menacingly, reaching over to the table in the center of the room and taking a long, slow sip of _Caf-Pow!_ to emphasize her point.

"Well… Um…" Tony searched the room desperately for a way out of this sticky situation. He could climb out a window… But none of the windows opened. He could quickly knock Abby's _Caf-Pow!_ out of her hand and attempt to run away. But neither Gibbs nor Abby would ever let him live it down. The only way out, unfortunately, was the quickly tell her the truth and then flee as quickly as possibly.

"Ziva." Tony quickly muttered, turning beet-red. As Tony began to side-step the dazed Abby, he accidentally bumped her shoulder, jolting the girl back to life.

"Ah Ha!" Abby called, practically pouncing on Tony as she pinned him against the wall. Quickly pushing a table in his way, she proceeded to do a happy dance around the room.

"Abby! Can't breath." Tony huffed, trying to push the table, covered in a multitude of lab equipment, off of his chest and unpin himself from the wall. When he finally managed to scoot out of the tight space and catch his breath, Abby was again in front of him, clapping her hands, cheering, and hugging him.

"Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay! I can't believe that this is finally happening! Timmy was all like 'Not gonna happen, Abby. They would never disobey Gibbs' rules like that.' But I told him! I said 'Oh, Timmy, it's bound to happen sometime, and the sooner the better, right?' Yay! You guys are so cute together! Plan Tiva has finally come through!" Abby giggled, throwing her hands up in the air and doing a spazzy-dance-routine sort of thing.

Tony, dumbstruck from learning all of this information at once, cocked his head to the side as he tried to process Abby's words. Finally, after a minute, he was able to wrap his head around the concept.

"Wait… You mean to tell me, that there's a bet going on about when Ziva and I will get together? Seriously? Oh, and Tiva? Was combining our names _really_ needed, Abs?" Tony asked, half serious and half humored by Abby's erratic dance-of-sorts.

"Heck yeah! You guys _need_ to have a combined name in order to even begin to be considered as a couple."

Ignoring this last comment, Tony rolled his eyes once more before becoming serious again. "Abs. Please, _please_ don't tell anyone about this, 'kay?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Yay! Tiva, united at last!" She screamed before taking another swig of _Caf-Pow!_ and once again dancing around the room.

"You see? I didn't have a choice! It was either tell Abby, or suffer the consequences…" Tony trailed off as small shiver shook his body. He remembered the last time that Abby hadn't gotten what she wanted, and most certainly did not want to live through_ that _again.

"Tony, you could have made something up!" Ziva argued, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at her partner.

"Oh come on, Ziva, Gibbs taught Abby how to detect lies _years_ ago. Plus, she could probably kill me with any chemical in her lab in ten seconds flat."

"Yes. But I can kill you 18 different ways with a paperclip." Ziva threatened, glaring at Tony for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"True… On to the next story!"

"Hey Palmer. Have you seen Ducky?" Tony asked, striding into the Autopsy room, carrying a stack of folders.

"Um, yes. Well, no. Actually, he just stepped out for a bit. I don't know why." Jimmy replied, ducking his head and continuing to examine the body he was currently working on.

"'Kay… Well will you tell him Gibbs wants him to sign off on these when he gets back?" Tony asked, rolling his eyes and plopping the folders on a desk in the corner.

"S-sure…" Jimmy replied, putting down his scalpel and pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose, his hands shaking slightly.

"What is it, Jimbaro? Cat got your tongue?" Tony asked, enjoying intimidating the Medical Assistant without getting reproachful looks from any of his coworkers.

"Well… Um… I know that you kind of were engaged once, and I was wondering… How do you deal with the pressure?" Jimmy burst, his anxiety level ever-growing. "I mean, Brina keeps bugging me about things like napkin colors and what appetizers we should serve, and I just don't know how to handle it! I don't want to let her down, but at the same time… I don't want to one day crack and then loose my only chance at being with the one person that I truly love!"

As Jimmy babbled on, Tony began to zone out, thinking about his own love life. Sure, he hadn't had a serious-serious relationship since Jeanne. Even when he was dating EJ, he had never really thought of their relationship as serious, considering he was in love with someone else the entire time. Maybe it was time for him to change everything around, take the relationship that he had with Ziva to the ominous "next level". Tony wasn't sure if he was ready for this but, like Jimmy, he wanted a chance to be with someone that would make him truly happy. And that someone, was Ziva.

Suddenly, Tony snapped out of his musings as he noticed Jimmy starting to practically shake. "Jimmy! What's wrong? Come on! You're fine, just chill out! It's not as bad as it seems." Tony rushed out, mentally shaking the last of his daydream out of his mind.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Jimmy asked, taking deep breaths and trying not to go into full on panic-attack mode. "Maybe I shouldn't even be asking you. I mean, we all know what your track record with women is. I guess I could always ask McGee or-," an involuntary shiver ran through Jimmy's body as he thought about his other option, "Gibbs."

"Excuse me? I'll have you know, Mr. Great Relationship, that I have an amazing record of women." Tony replied, clearly irritated. Who was Jimmy, the Autopsy Gremlin, to tell him off for who he dates. "Plus, I'm in a _very_ committed relationship right now."

"Really?" Jimmy looked slightly taken aback as he slowly picked up a magnifying glass and began examining the brain tissue of the dead Marine. "With who?"

"Oh like I'm going to tell you." Tony scoffed, turning around and snatching a pen off of the desk, scribbling a quick note to Ducky.

"I get it." Jimmy countered, laughing. "You're making up a girl so that you win this argument. Tony, it's okay to not have a girlfriend."

Tony couldn't believe it. Since _when_ had _Jimmy,_ of all people, grown a spine? It seemed like just yesterday he was standing awkwardly in the corner of the autopsy room as Gibbs talked to Ducky. Did he _really_ think that he could reprimand Tony like this? Tony knew he had to do something about this, and fast.

"For your information, Palmer, I have a completely gorgeous, kick butt girlfriend who would make you eat your words if you saw her." Tony replied, smirking at the Medical Assistant.

"Who?" Jimmy asked, his tone reproachful.

"Ziva!"

Jimmy's face was blank as he tried to process this new information. Suddenly, it was if Tony could see the cogs moving in his brain as a lightbulb lit up above his head. A look of both astonishment and awe crossed Jimmy's face as he looked up at Tony in the bright Autopsy lights.

"You're dating Ziva? But doesn't Special Agent Gibbs have a rule about that?" Jimmy asked, remembering something that Ducky had told him years ago.

"Yes, so if you say anything." Tony began, glaring at Jimmy. "You're dead."

"Tony!" Ziva yelled, baffled by the information that her partner had just told her. "Why didn't you just leave it at Jimmy thinking that you made up a girlfriend? It would have been _so_ much easier!"

"I have a reputation to uphold, Zee-vah, and I could not let anyone, even Palmer, think that I couldn't get a girl!" Tony replied defensively.

"You are impossible." Ziva muttered, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Hey! Anyway's, just let me finish telling my stories. Then you can criticize me as much as you want." Tony teased as he began to recount his final tale of the night.

"Hey Ducky, did Palmer tell you Gibbs wants you to sign those reports?" Tony asked, pointing to a seemingly untouched stack of folders on the corner of the desk.

"No, but I do not blame him. Mr. Palmer has a lot on his mind these days." Ducky mused as he looked up at Tony from across the room. "I let him go home early, the poor lad. He's been stretched so tight with this wedding, its a wonder he's managed to keep it together."

"Yeah, I noticed." Tony murmured darkly as he walked over to the lifeless Marine that Ducky was peering at.

"How have you been, Anthony?" Ducky asked, looking up at Tony curiously.

"Hanging in there." Tony replied, forcing a laugh as he tried to lighten the mood. In reality, Tony had been anything but 'hanging in there' all day. It had started off with him telling Abby about him and Ziva, then he had to go and blab to Palmer, and finally Gibbs had practically come out and told them that he knew they were dating, and that he clearly disapproved.

"Really? You seemed so happy for the past few months, but for the past week in particular, you've seemed very down. What changed?"

"Well…" And all of a sudden, looking at Ducky's concerned face, Tony found himself pouring his heart out to the old man. Everything he'd ever felt for Ziva came rushing out of his parted lips as he recounted every single thought that had crossed his mind when he saw Ziva.

Throughout the entire debacle, Ducky stood there, listening patiently to Tony as he spilled his guts to the man. His facial expression wasn't annoyed, impatient, or angry. But instead, calm and content, like he really wanted to hear what Tony had to say.

"I'm in love with her, Duck, and I don't know what I would do if Gibbs found out and forced us apart." Tony finally ended his story, his voice barely a whisper as he looked down at the floor solemnly.

"Well, Anthony." Ducky said, smiling up at the man. "If you really want to be happy with Ziva, you must tell Jethro, or you'll never be able to live with yourself and what you have built up with Ziva, will come tumbling down."

"That's why I wanted to tell Gibbs, Ziva. I was trying to prevent what has happened with every other woman that I have ever dated, happen to you." Tony frowning at the ground in frustration. If only he had told Ziva this earlier, instead of waiting until two thirty in the morning to explain his motives.

Looking up, he noticed that Ziva hadn't said anything. It wasn't like she looked furious or astonished, in fact, she seemed almost… Pensive. Taking a deep breath, Tony tried to tell himself that this wasn't the end of his relationship with Ziva, and that all that they had been through together, wasn't going to end within the next ten seconds.

"Ziva?" Tony choked out, his lips barely moving.

As if she had just noticed she was there, Ziva broke out of her thoughts and made eye contact with Tony. Her eyes shone with a fresh sheen of, what was it? Hurt? Hope? Amazement, even?

Then, out of nowhere, Ziva stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to Tony's. A moment later, she sunk back down onto the balls of her feet to see Tony smiling broadly, looking like a child on Christmas.

"Tony, I agree with you. We should tell Gibbs. But let us wait until the morning, yes? I feel that it would make a bad impression if we showed up at Gibbs' house at almost three in the morning. You can sleep over, I don't want you driving this late at night" Ziva said, smiling as well.

Seeing Tony's hopeful expression, she laughed, rolling her eyes. Pushing Tony onto the couch, Ziva extinguished his happiness quickly as he realized he'd be sleeping alone tonight. "Goodnight, Tony. I will see you in the morning." Ziva called, tossing Tony a pillow and blanket and walking into her room, shutting the door behind her with a creak and a soft chuckle.

**I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and please comment! :D**

**Byes! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi peeps! Super sorry for the longish wait, I've kinda been ignoring this chapter for a while, I didn't really know what to do with it… But I've finally decided! I hope you like! :)**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunatly, I don't own NCIS and probably never will, so I should really stop asking for it for my birthday… **

Lazily opening his eyes, Tony DiNozzo squinted as the bright morning light temporarily blinded him. That was strange, Tony usually kept his blinds shut in the morning so that he could snatch a few extra minutes of shut eye before heading off to work. Finally opening his eyes completely, the Federal Agent was surprised to see that he was in Ziva's living room.

It was then that everything came back to him, driving through the pouring rain as he rushed to get to Ziva's house. Finally making up with her before blabbing about how he might have accidentally revealed to Abby, Ducky, and Palmer that he and Ziva had broken rule number twelve and were going out. Groaning, Tony shut his eyes again, thinking about the oncoming prospect of telling Gibbs about his relationship.

Taking a deep breath, Tony wondered how on earth he was going to do it. Possibly walk up to him and say "Hey Boss, forgot to tell you, but I've been dating Ziva for the past month. Hope you don't mind!" and then run away as fast as his legs could carry him. Or maybe, he'd go over to Gibbs' house later that night and break the news to him then.

Suddenly, it hit him, "I'll just get little old McProbie to tell Gibbs that we're dating! Then Gibbs would head slap _him_ and not me!"

Smiling, Tony stretched and slowly stood up, making his way to the kitchen. As he walked through the door, Tony was greeted with the smell of pancakes fresh off the griddle. Looking around, he noticed Ziva standing by the stove, sliding one last pancake onto a heaping plate. Tony grinned as he walked over to her, snatching a pancake off of the plate slyly.

Yelping, Tony dropped the searing hot pancake and rushed to run his hand under the faucet, glowering at Ziva's laughter behind her. Shutting off the tap, he turned around to see Ziva sitting at the table, trying to hold back a smile as she cut up her breakfast. Still looking annoyed, Tony grabbed a plate out of the cabinet and sat down across from Ziva.

The two ate in silence for a moment, Ziva smirking at Tony while he glared back. Finally, Ziva broke the silence, wanting to figure out what they were going to do about Gibbs. "Tony, what are we going to do? How are we going to tell Gibbs?"

"Well…" Tony began before Ziva cut him off.

"Do not tell me that you are going to get McGee to do it and then run away quickly. We need to do this ourselves, it will be better that way."

"Why? Wouldn't it be much better if McGee lost a few more braincells than me loosing all of mine?" Tony asked, pouting. Seeing Ziva's expression, he rolled his eyes and shoved another piece of pancake in his mouth.

Frowning for a moment, Tony stood up, walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of chocolate syrup and whipped cream, grabbing a container of sprinkles as he walked back to his chair. Sitting down, the Very Special Agent proceeded to slather all of these ingredients on his pancakes. Taking a bite, Tony smiled, his teeth specked in sprinkles, and earned a grimace from Ziva.

"That is disgusting, Tony. And it is really bad for you." Ziva said, wrinkling her nose.

"But it tastes good!" Tony responded, sounding like a five year old.

"Anyways, I think we should approach Gibbs alone, possibly in the elevator, and tell him then." Ziva suggested, standing up and washing her plate off in the sink.

"Do you really think telling Gibbs in a small, confined space is a good idea? _Okay…_" Tony trailed off, joining Ziva at the sink once he finished his colorful meal.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Ziva asked, placing her plate in the dishwasher. Tony opened his mouth before Ziva cut him off, grimacing once again as he washed his chocolaty mess down the drain. "_Not _including McGee."

Tony snapped his mouth shut and grinned, putting on the classic DiNozzo charm. "Well then, we'll just have to go with your plan, won't we Zeevah?" He stated sarcastically.

"Yes." Ziva replied simply, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice. "You should get going, you still have to go home and change before you drive to NCIS."

"Ooooor, I could stay here and _not_ go to work today." Tony said, smiling widely.

"Ha ha." Ziva replied, opening the front door.

"Morning, McGee." Ziva called cheerily, walking out of the elevator and dropping her bag by her desk.

"Hey, Ziva." McGee replied, typing feverishly. After a minute, he groaned and slumped back into his chair.

"What is the matter, McGee?" Ziva asked as she sat down and turned on her own computer.

"My computer has a virus." McGee replied, repeatedly knocking his head against the back of his chair.

"Didn't you say that your computer has the newest Flamewall?" Ziva asked, clearly confused.

"Firewall, and yeah, I updated it just last Tuesday!" McGee responded, looking at his computer incredulously as it started beeping erratically.

Suspecting that Tony had something to do with McGee's computer troubles, Ziva rolled her eyes and pulled a book out of her bag. No sooner than she'd read two paragraphs, though, than a loud voice pulled her back to reality.

"_Good morning,_ how are my two favorite Probies?" Tony asked, strutting out of the elevator.

"Fine." McGee muttered, again attempting to sort out his computer. Ziva again rolled her eyes as Tony flashed her a mischievous grin, confirming her suspicions about him hacking McGee's computer.

"What's the matter, McDowner?" Tony asked, sitting down and throwing his jacket behind him lazily.

"My computer has a virus." McGee replied, giving up and shutting down his computer.

"Awwww poor probe-kins is no where without his computer!" Tony cooed, leaning back in his chair, grinning.

"Shut up." McGee murmured, glaring at Tony.

"Both of you shut up. Grab your gear. Dead marine, coffee shop." Gibbs barked, striding into the bullpen, coffee in hand.

"Yes boss!" Tony said, jumping up and grabbing his bag. "You know, you really should change the password on your computer, Probie." Tony called back towards a stunned McGee as he followed Gibbs into the elevator.

_Flash!_ Tony looked down at the camera to see Ziva looking surprised, her hair falling out of it's pony tail. Grinning, he looked up to see the real Ziva rolling her eyes at him.

"What?" Tony asked, seeing her expression.

"How are we supposed to tell Gibbs?" Ziva asked, her expression serious once again.

"I thought we decided that this morning, Zi. Remember, corner him in the elevator or when we're alone with him?" Tony said, snapping a photo of the coffee shop's broken front door.

"I'm starting to think that maybe that isn't the best plan…" Ziva replied, a frown line creasing her forehead.

"No worries, Zi, everything will be fine." Tony answered cooly, trying not to show how scared he actually was at the prospect of telling Gibbs that he was dating Ziva with no respect for his rule against it.

"DiNozzo! Stop chatting and come bag and tag this!" Gibbs yelled from across the room, making Tony jump for feet in the air before rushing over to his boss.

"Ziva, will you come down to my lab? I need an extra pair of hands." Abby said over the phone sweetly.

Once Ziva agreed, she placed the phone on the table and turned back to her computer, analyzing the evidence from the day's case. Hearing the of the elevator, Abby quickly plastered her most delightful smile on her face and turned around to see a slightly scared looking Ziva walking into the room.

"Hey Abby…" Ziva trailed off, looking around frantically. It was now clear that she was extremely nervous about what Abby was going to say.

"Oh, _hi_ Ziva." Abby replied, waiting a few moments for dramatic effect. Finally, when the silence seemed almost unbearable, she exploded. "How could you not tell me about you and Tony! Seriously, Ziva, I thought we were like sisters, and sisters tell each other everything! Okay, maybe not everything, but still! I can't believe you kept something like this from me for so long! Even though I can understand why, you were probably worried that I would react like this… But still!"

"I'm sorry, Abby." Ziva squeaked, taking a step towards the door.

"Okay! Anyways, oh my gosh! I can't believe you and Tony are finally dating!" Abby said, giggling like crazy and pulling Ziva into a spastic hug.

"They're _what?_"

**Oooohhhh! I wonder who's standing in the doorway! *I have a pretty good idea of who it is, but I'm not positive :)***

**Please review! :**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! So… After I finished the last chapter I totally changed who was going to have overheard Abby, pleases don't be mad at me! **

**Disclaimer: I know, I know, I don't own NCIS :( :( :(**

_"They're what?"_

Whipping their heads around, Abby and Ziva were shocked to see none other than Timothy McGee standing in the doorway. Ziva looked at Abby, as if to say 'Did you know he was there?' Abby shook her head, looking just as surprised as Ziva. Turning around again, the girls noticed that McGee was just barely holding onto a _Caf-Pow!_, his mouth wide open.

"Hey, Timmy… Thanks…" Abby said, walking over to McGee and taking the drink out of his hands before it dropped it and splashed everywhere.

With this, McGee seemed to become aware of where he was again. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he walked over to Ziva and Abby, his eyebrows raised.

"You and Tony are… Dating?" He asked, his mouth remaining open for a few moments, as if he wanted to say more on the topic, but then he seemed to think better of it and snapped it shut.

"Ummm…" Ziva said, looking at Abby for help. Abby, seeing that there really wasn't another way out of it, took a sip of her _Caf-Pow!_ before setting it down on a table and beginning to talk.

"Yes! Isn't it great?" Abby squealed, hopping up and down excitedly. "But if you tell Gibbs, remember, we know how to kill you in five seconds flat without leaving any forensic evidence." She threatened, grinning at his shocked expression.

"Got it…" McGee whimpered, glancing at Ziva to see her looking as frightening, if not more, than Abby. "So… When did this start?" McGee asked once Abby started smiling again.

"After Ray left, isn't that great?" Abby giggled, smiling from ear to ear. "I totally called it, didn't I Timmy? Remember? Like two years ago when we all thought Ziva was dead in Somalia, I was all like 'Tony totally likes her!'"

"Really?" Ziva asked, surprised. Sure, she had known that Tony had been liking her for a while, but she never though it went back that far into the past.

"Yeah, Tony wasn't himself after you left…" McGee mused, remembering how distant Tony had seemed for those few months.

"I know! He was totally depressed, after Gibbs told us that the Damocles went down, I could get away with anything when it came to Tony! Didn't you tell him once that you wanted to buy some tight red leather pants, and he didn't even bat an eyelash?" Abby asked, turning towards McGee, smiling widely.

"Something like that…" McGee mumbled, looking away from Ziva's incredulous expression.

"Is anyone working around here?" All eyes flashed towards the door as Gibbs strode in, coffee in hand, glowering.

"Yes Gibbs! McGee was just explaining… Wireless End Components to Ziva and me!" Abby stated, smiling angelically.

"Well, get back to work!" Gibbs barked as Ziva and McGee scrambled out of the room. As the elevator doors closed, a faint "What've you got, Abs?" was heard from the lab.

_Ding!_ Glancing towards her computer screen, Ziva noticed a window had opened up, requesting to chat with Tony. Looking across the Bullpen, Ziva saw Tony looking expectantly at her. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Ziva quickly clicked accept, immediately regretting her actions when a message popped up.

_What's up with McWeirdo, he keeps glancing at me._

Eyeing McGee, Ziva had to agree that McGee was acting a bit abnormal, glancing at Tony incredulously every five seconds. Deciding that Tony would find out anyways, Ziva decided to tell him what went down in the Lab today.

_Well… I was in the lab and McGee walked in and overheard Abby and I talking about how we are dating._

Pulling up the chat icon, Tony was flabbergasted to find that McGee knew about his relationship with Ziva. Turning around, he stared at McGee until the agent looked up at him, a scared look in his eyes. Quickly turning back towards his computer, McGee started typing furiously. Hearing another ping, Tony looked at Ziva to see her grimacing at McGee.

Peering at McGee, Tony realized that the two former Probies were having a secret conversation. What was that about? Since when have Ziva and McGeek had secret conversations _without him?_ Narrowing his eyes at McGee, Tony pulled up another chat window and began to type furiously.

_McNosy! Tell me everything you know! _

A second later, after a few scared looks from McGee, Tony received a reply.

_About what, Tony?_

Tony was astounded, it was one thing for his two Probies to have secret conversations, but for McGeek to withhold information that it was clear he was talking about? What had happened? It was clear that a certain Probie needed a nice hard headslap… And who better to give it to him than Gibbs?

_I still think we should have McGee tell Gibbs._

_Tony, we are going to tell Gibbs, not McGee. _

Huffing in defeat, Tony began typing a reply to a frightened McGee.

_Probie! You know what I'm talking about! Now tell me everything you heard, or as a wise man once said, I'll smack you so hard that your grandchildren will feel it!_

_ You don't scare me, Tony._

Grinning, Tony looked up to see a _clearly_ scared Probie typing feverishly. It seemed like his threats had worked, because a moment later, Tony got a reply.

_TONY! What are you saying to McGee? He looks like he is having a nervous breakdown!_

Oh, so the Probie wanted to play _that_ game, fine. Smirking, Tony replied to Ziva, waiting for the ninja to be released.

_Oh nothing, McSneaky over there is just denying that he knows anything about our relationship. No biggie. Zi, what if he tells Gibbs? We need to smack some sense into this kid!_

_ Yes but I doubt causing him to have a heart attack will have the effect we want._

_ You never know…_

Tony responded, glancing at McGee who seemed about to crack from the stress from both of his partners practically glaring at him.

_ Fine! I know that you and Ziva are dating._

Ha ha, so the Probie had finally admitted it, perfect. It was time for Tony's evil plan to be put into action. But before he could do anything involving Super-Glue related threats, McGee responded.

_I might just go to Gibbs with this, Tony._

What? Tony was shocked, he had never known McGee to be so wise and cunning. He must have finally rubbed off on him. It was just his luck, though, that it was in exactly the wrong moment that McGee put these threats into play.

_You __better not__ tell Gibbs!_

_ What's stopping me?_

Tony glanced up to see McGee smirking at him. McGee smirking at _him?_ This was not right, Tony was used to being the boss, not his wee Probie-kins. It was time to bring out the big guns.

_Uh, hello? My super hot ninja girlfriend who could kick your sorry butt to San Francisco if she felt like it._

"Ziva, I really think that we should tell Gibbs tomorrow! At least give me one more day to think about what I'm going to say." Tony pleaded, waiting next to Ziva's desk as she gathered her things. It was the end of the day and the Tony wasn't planning on stressing about Gibbs again until after at least ten hours of sleep.

"Tony-" Ziva's reply was cut off by Abby running into the Bullpen, hopping up and down.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" She screamed, jumping up and down in front of Gibbs' desk excitedly.

"Abs, what?" Gibbs asked, taking another sip of what had to be his seventh coffee that day.

"I just figured something out! You have to come down to my lab! NOW!" Abby cried as Gibbs stood up. Smiling, she rushed into the elevator just as Tony and Ziva pushed the ground floor button.

"Hi guys!" She cheered, her jumping shaking the elevator slightly.

"Hey…" Tony said, praying that Gibbs would miss the elevator. Just as the doors were closing and Tony's heart rate was slowing down, an arm shot out, reversing the doors.

Gibbs stepped inside, staring Tony down as if to ask the agent why he didn't hold to door for him. Smiling sheepishly, Tony backed against the opposite wall of the elevator, ignoring Ziva's smirk and eye roll. Taking a deep breath, he told himself not to worry and that the elevator ride would be over in less than ten seconds.

Suddenly, the lights flashed and everything was pitch black. Groaning, Tony slumped down against the wall as Abby quietly said "oops", pertaining to the fact that her that her jumping had most likely caused the elevator to malfunction. Great, now not only was Tony stuck in the elevator, probably overnight, but he was stuck with Ziva, Abby, and Gibbs.

**The next chapter will probably be my last, it depends how long it is and how much time I have. But I really hope you liked this! Please review! :D :D :**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ahhh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm super sorry that I haven't updated in a while, I was having major doubts about this chapter, I kept rewriting it. But I finally finished it… And I guess I like it, even though I'm not 100% sure about the ending. Please review! **

**Disclaimer: No, NCIS isn't mine :(**

"Abby…" Ziva heard Tony moan as he leaned his head back against the wall. Sitting down, Ziva reached over and gave Tony's hand a reassuring squeeze for a moment before pulling away again.

"Great." Gibbs muttered as the last few drops of coffee trickled down his throat. This was sure to be a very long night.

"Why isn't this button working?" Abby asked, flipping the emergency switch a few times before too sinking down in defeat.

"The power cut, we're not getting out for a while, Abby." Ziva replied, leaning into Tony, who happily put his arm around her. A quick flicker of a smile crossed her face as she thanked her lucky suns for the fact that it was pitch black in the elevator, or else she would probably gotten a million head slaps from Gibbs.

"Oooh!" Abby cried with glee, sounding much happier than she should in the present situation. "Good! We can play some games! Like, truth or dare! Or would you rather! Or spin the bottle!" Abby giggled, elbowing Tony.

"Ow! Who the heck just elbowed me?" Gibbs barked, dropping his empty coffee cup next to him and sitting down as well.

Well, Abby _thought_ it was Tony… "Sorry Gibbs! I meant to elbow Ton- I mean… I was stretching!"

Gibbs, having caught Abby's mistake, glared. Something was up, he could feel it in his gut. And he was sure that he was going to find out what before they got out of this dang elevator. Something was also telling him that at least one of his rules were going to be broken tonight, he just hoped it was a minor one.

"So back to the game idea! How about we play… Would you rather?" Abby asked hopefully.

"No" Everyone said, not wanting to reveal anything about themselves.

"Fine… Oooh, Truth or Dare?"

"No."

"Well then, I'm not going to even suggest spin the b-"

This time, everyone practically yelled no, Gibbs being the loudest of all. Huffing in annoyance, Abby rolled her eyes, leaning back against the elevator doors. It looked like tonight was going to be yet another super boring night...

After about five minutes of sitting in complete silence, Abby finally stood up and started pacing. Ignoring Tony's annoyed cries when she trod on his foot, Abby kept walking in circles until she couldn't take it anymore. She had to escape soon or she might just go mad.

Per usual, Gibbs could practically read Abby's thoughts, so he stood up as well and put his hand on her shoulder. "Abs, calm down."

Turning around, hyperventilating, a frown line creased Abby's forehead as she tried to listen to her boss' words. "No, Gibbs. I can't! What if we're trapped in here forever!"

"Shhh, it'll be okay." Gibbs shushed, forcing Abby to stop walking in circles.

"I can always climb out of the emergency window-door thingie at the top of the elevator, Boss, and call for help." Tony suggested, looking up at where he suspected his boss to be in the pitch black elevator.

"I'll go!" Abby screamed, jumping up and down. "Gibbs, lift me up please?"

Gibbs bent down and a minute later, he heard the door fall open. Pulling herself up through the tiny space, Abby finally managed to lift herself into the elevator shaft. Standing up wobbly, she gripped the walls around her for support before looking up above her, where, about five feet away, the elevator door was slightly lit up. Stretching all the way on her tiptoes, Abby huffed out a breath as her knuckles made contact with the door.

"See you later, Ducky." Tim called, turning around and walking over to the elevator. Punching the button, he smiled as he thought about the conversation that he had just had with Ducky.

It had all started with Tim having to ask Ducky a question about the autopsy report that he'd handed him this morning. After a while, though, the topic had somehow changed to lost chances, and suddenly, Tim had found himself talking about how he really wanted to get back together with Abby, but it had been eight years and he didn't know what her feelings toward him were.

Ducky had told Tim to go for what he wanted, that if Abby turned him down, it would just go back to the way that it was before. After all, Tim had a feeling that Abby knew he liked her, he'd made it pretty obvious throughout the past few years, whether it was him getting jealous whenever she had a new boyfriend, or bringing her extra _Caf-Pow!'_s just as an excuse to see her. So, that's just what Tim was going to do. If Tony and Ziva could break rule number twelve, why couldn't he? Even if Gibbs did kill him, at least Abby would know how he felt.

Pressing the button again, Tim was brought out of his thoughts by a soft tapping sounding like it was coming from… The floor?

"McGee!" Bending down, Tim pressed his ear to the bottom of the door, trying to tell if he was really hearing Abby's voice, or if he was just imagining things.

"Abby?" He asked, pressing his ear against the door once more.

"McGee! Help, Tony, Ziva, Gibbs and I are all stuck in the elevator!" Abby faintly called back, her voice greatly muffled by the doors.

"No worries Abby," Tim called, hopping up. "I'll get you out of there."

An awkward silence had fallen over the current inhabitants of a certain elevator. Overhead, Abby had fallen silent at the promise of McGee going for help. Tony was greatly thankful for the silence, for it meant that he didn't have to explain anything to Gibbs just yet. In Ziva's opinion, she welcomed the silence, but it also scared her, reminding her of the days at a time she would spend alone in a cell in Somalia, waiting for them to come back and torture her once more. Gibbs could practically feel the tension in the air, and sitting back down, he decided to settle this once and for all.

"DiNozzo." He said, looking towards the corner on the opposite side of the elevator that he knew his Senior Field Agent was sitting in.

"Yes boss?" Gibbs could practically feel Tony grimace as he replied, no doubt sorry that he hadn't evaded questioning this time around.

"So, which rule have you broken now?" Gibbs asked, adding just a bit of edge in his voice. Hearing an audible gulp, Gibbs grinned. Now they were getting somewhere.

"W-what do you m-m-mean, boss?" Tony stuttered, trying to keep the worry out of his voice unsuccessfully. Next to him, Tony felt Ziva tense up. They both knew what was coming, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

_This is it._ Ziva thought, quickly scanning her surroundings. If needed, the only weapons available to her seemed to be a dead cellphone and her hair band. Of course Gibbs would choose to have this particular conversation in the smallest area possible. Ziva didn't know what she wanted to so, scoot closer to Tony and be comforted by his warmth, or edge away slowly so that Gibbs didn't suspect any more than he already did. Figuring that it would be smarter not to be curled up next to Tony when they talked, Ziva slowly moved away, frowning.

"You know what I mean, DiNozzo! Don't make me create rule 52 'never lie to your boss… or suffer the consequences.'" Gibbs threatened, raising an eyebrow.

Tony sighed, it seemed as if Gibbs already knew what was going on, and he just wanted Tony to admit it. Even though the agent felt as if he was walking straight into a trap, Tony gave Ziva's hand a nervous squeeze before answering.

"Rule twelve." Tony mumbled, looking at the elevator floor as he felt Gibbs' eyes boring into him. Shutting his eyes tight, Tony braced himself for the hardest head-slap of his life. A moment later, he opened them, confused when no head-slap came.

"Expecting a head-slap? All I have to say, is you better want this. If you don't… Get ready to basically work in a living hell. Oh, and if you even think of kissing in the building…" Gibbs trailed off, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"YAY! Tony and Ziva can finally be together forever!" Abby giggled, hopping back down into the elevator, snapping the door shut behind her, just as the lights flashed back on and it finally began moving again.

"Timmy! You saved us!" Abby called, running over to a slightly pink McGee and hugging him.

"No, I really couldn't have done it without you, Abs." McGee replied, smiling down at the girl.

Tony sighed and stood up, brushing the nonexistent dust off of his pants. Turning around, he saw a smiling and slightly incredulous Ziva looking back at him. Her expression practically screamed _I told you so_, making Tony roll his eyes and stick out his tongue playfully at her. It looked like he had been worried for nothing, it turned out that Gibbs really didn't have a problem with-

_SLAP!_ Whipping his head around, Tony was surprised to see a grinning Gibbs. Grinning? Looking back at Ziva warily, Tony noticed her wearing the same expression. Looking back at Gibbs, Tony opened his mouth to speak, but the older agent cut him off.

"That's for not telling me sooner, DiNozzo." Gibbs hit Tony again, even harder this time. "That's for disobeying rule twelve" Gibbs head-slapped Tony one last time, his eyebrows raised. "And _that's_ for not breaking it sooner."

A look of pure astonishment was etched across Tony's face as his boss strode away towards the Director's office, picking a coffee off of his desk on the way. Feeling a slight pressure in his hand, Tony looked over to see Ziva slipping her hand into his, smiling as well. A grin spreading across Tony's face, he walked back into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor, not caring in the least if it got stuck again. As the doors finally slid closed on the bull pen, a thought crossed Tony's mind, making his smile grow even larger. Even Gibbs, the man who seemed to have all of the answers and know everything you ever needed to know, was sometimes wrong.

**Yay! Finished! Still not sure about the ending though… Please review! Thanks, byes! :**


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